BGSU to join ‘Rolling Requiem’ on 9-11

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Voices at Bowling Green State University will join others around the world on Sept. 11 to remember the victims, and heroes, of the terrorist attacks on America.

The University Choral Society will participate in an internationally organized reading of Mozart’s “Requiem,” continuing through the seventh of the work’s 12 movements, in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. As of this writing, BGSU is the only university in Ohio taking part in the event.

The University’s participation in the worldwide choral commemoration, known as the “Rolling Requiem,” will begin shortly after 8:46 a.m.—the time of the first attack on the World Trade Center. Campus bells, including the bell in the ballroom, will toll at that time, followed by a minute of silence and the beginning of the “Rolling Requiem” program, which will end at about 9:20 a.m.

The ballroom will open at 8 a.m. for the Sept. 11 remembrance, which is open to the public. A color guard of Army and Air Force ROTC students will present the flags at 8:35 a.m., and Deborah Fleitz, director of public events for BGSU’s College of Musical Arts, will officially open the event at 8:43 a.m.

Activities will continue at noon, when two BGSU faculty members who have conducted Sept. 11-related research will lead informal discussion groups.

Speaking in Prout Chapel will be Dr. Annette Mahoney, associate professor of psychology, who found that spirituality played a powerful role in how her study’s subjects dealt with the tragedy. Overflow seating will be in the union’s multipurpose room, which, along with campus classrooms and BGSU Firelands, will receive a broadcast of the presentation.

Leading discussion on the lawn in front of University Hall will be Dr. Melissa Spirek, associate professor of journalism. Her research indicated that the amount and type of television news sought by U.S. viewers after Sept. 11 could be linked to a personality trait difference. In the event of rain, Spirek will speak in the McFall Center Gallery.

The remembrance will conclude at 9 p.m. with a candlelight vigil. A campuswide march will begin at each residence hall, converging at the Alumni Mall between Harshman and Kreischer quadrangles.

Directed by Dr. William Skoog, director of choral activities at BGSU, the University Choral Society is joining choirs from nearly all 50 states and more than 20 other countries in the “Rolling Requiem.” Beginning at the International Date Line at 8:46 a.m. and moving through each time zone, these renderings will follow the sun around the world, providing 24 hours of music and giving voice to hope and healing.

The idea for the event came following a January performance of the “Requiem” by the Seattle Symphony Chorale, when a singer had a chance encounter with a patron. The unidentified woman shared a vision of all the best choruses in the country gathering around Ground Zero in New York to sing the “Requiem” in honor of those who died. Deciding to make the woman’s vision a reality, members of the symphony chorale began to meet as a committee, expanding the vision until it became the “Rolling Requiem.”

Anyone wishing to sing with the choral group should attend a 7:30 p.m. rehearsal Monday (Sept. 9) in Kobacker Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center. Scores will be provided.

Soloists for the event will be soprano Jane Schoonmaker Rodgers and tenor Christopher Scholl, assistant professors of music performance studies at BGSU; mezzo-soprano Tina Bunce, BGSU alumna and publicity and publications manager for the College of Musical Arts, and bass Mark Moliterno, visiting assistant professor of music performance studies.

Pianists will be Cynthia Benson, assistant professor of music education, and Kevin McGill, BGSU alumnus and choral society accompanist.

The victims of Sept. 11 will also be remembered Wednesday evening at a Faculty Artist Series recital by saxophonist John Sampen, a Distinguished Research/Artist Professor, and composer Mark Bunce, director of recording services for the College of Musical Arts. Dedicated to those who lost their lives will be a performance of “Four 5” by John Cage and selected readings from e.e. cummings. The performance will begin at 8 p.m. in Bryan Recital Hall of the Moore Musical Arts Center.

For more information on the “Rolling Requiem” or the Faculty Artist Series performance, contact the College of Musical Arts at 419-372-2181.

(Posted September 6, 2002)